Groundwater monitoring at three Oak Ridge National Laboratory inactive waste impoundments: results after one year

Technical Report · Wed Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1986

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/7147312· OSTI ID:7147312

Francis, C. W.; Stansfield, R. G.

To determine if the migration of potential contaminants from three inactive waste impoundments at Oak Ridge National Laboratory poses a threat to groundwater quality, at least one upgradient groundwater monitoring well and threee downgradient monitoring wells were installed at each impoundment in early 1985. These three unlined impoundments, formerly used to collect and, in some instances, treat wastewater are: the 3513 impoundment; the Old Hydrofracture Facility (OHF) impoundment; and the Homogeneous Reactor Experimnt No. 2 impoundment. Groundwater samples were collected quarterly for one year. Analyses were conducted for the groundwater protection parameters promulgated by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. The groundwater samples were also analyzed for polychlorinated biphenyls, copper, nickel, zinc, /sup 90/Sr, /sup 137/Cs, and tritium. The contaminants found most often to affect groundwater quality at all three waste impoundments were radionuclides. For example, mean concentrations of gross beta and gross alpha activity exceeded drinking water limits at all three sites. The gross beta limit was exceeded at the 3513 and OHF impoundments by either /sup 90/Sr or tritium levels. At the 3513 impoundment, there was substantial evidence that the downgradient groundwater has been contaminated by chromium and lead and possibly by halogenated organic compounds. At the OHF impoundment, the mean level of tritium measured in the upgradient well (about 91,000 Bq/L as compared with 80,000 Bq/L in the downgradient wells) indicated that the groundwater quality has been affected by the radioactive wastes buried in the low-level radioactive waste burial ground solid waste storage area-5 upgradient of the impoundment. Testing for groundwater contamination, disclosed statistically significant contamination at all three sites.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 7147312
• Report Number(s): ORNL/TM--10193; ON: DE87002339
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
CONTAMINATION
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
GROUND WATER
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
MANAGEMENT
MASS TRANSFER
MONITORING
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
ORNL
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
RADIATION MONITORING
RADIOACTIVE WASTE STORAGE
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
STORAGE
US AEC
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE STORAGE
WATER
WATER QUALITY